Sean Strickland will have his work cut out for him when he challenges current champion Dricus Du Plessis in a rematch for the UFC middleweight title at the upcoming UFC 312 pay-per-view (PPV) card on Feb. 8 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, but at least he’ll have UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira in his corner.
This is according to Strickland’s head coach, Eric Nicksick, who spoke to The Schmo on Tuesday about Strickland’s upcoming clash with DDP. It’s a huge fight to say the least and one that Strickland almost didn’t land, so it’s important he prepares himself to the best of his ability.
Luckily, Pereira is willing to step up and do some extra traveling to begin 2025 and help corner Strickland in Australia. Despite fighting one another at UFC 276 back in 2022 — a fight that “Poatan” won via first-round knockout — Pereira and Strickland have become good training partners and even better friends. It will be a huge addition to Strickland’s journey to UFC 312 to have Pereira by his side.
“We will have Alex Pereira in the corner. I’m dropping the news right now,” said Nicksick. “He’s a good friend of Sean. He’s a great training partner. Obviously these guys have fought, but after the fight I think it takes a man to go and learn from the guy who caught you with something. These guys train with each other a ton. Sean went up there to help him get ready for Khalil Rountree.
“I love having him. It’s great energy. We just talked yesterday. We were going to have the fourth and it’s going to be Alex.”
What do you think, Maniacs? Will Strickland be able to outclass du Plessis at UFC 312 with Pereira in his corner?
Let us know!
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This story originally appeared on MMA Mania
